Broncos stumble out of bye week, lose 1st game of year
By John Livingston | November 1, 2009
The Broncos dropped their first game of the season today against a Baltimore Ravens team that looked determined to shut down the Denver offense. The Broncos never held a lead in the game and were held scoreless until the second half, eventually suffering a 30-7 defeat.
The Broncos came into the game with six straight wins including impressive victories over the Cowboys, Patriots and Chargers. After coming off a bye week the Broncos offense never seemed to get consistent momentum and fell victim to an all out Ravens defensive attack.
Kyle Orton never got the passing game going down the field and the rushing game also found it hard to gain big yards. Correll Buckhalter got the start at running back for the Broncos and had a tough time finding the open field getting just 16 yards on 8 carries. Knowshon Moreno had the better day running the ball with 39 yards on 10 carries and 1 touchdown, but he fumbled the ball after a catch in the Broncos own backfield after getting blasted by Ravens all-pro safety Ed Reed.
The fumble was a key play in the first half; coming on the Broncos 3rd drive of the game the offense finally had earned their first first-down of the game and were trying to establish something on offense. After the fumble they were unable to obtain any momentum until the second half as Ravens defensive end Jarret Johnson continually forced his way into the back field play after play. This forced Orton to scramble away or concede the sack to one of the many Ravens pass rushers all day.
This intense Ravens pass rush was the reason that Buckhalter led the team in catches; hauling in 6 passes for just 30 yards. Orton finished 23/37 for 152 yards and no scores.
The defense played stellar football the first half but a 95 yard Lardarius Webb kick-off return for a touchdown to open the second half for the Ravens proved to be a score the Broncos would not come back from. The Broncos did score a touchdown on the following drive on Moreno’s run, but the Ravens answered right back with Ray Rice and Derrick Mason touch down scores of their own.
Denver’s defense failed to live up to the hype built up by their incredible second half stats earlier in the year as they gave up several second half 3rd down conversions (the first of which in 4 games,) and allowed 24 points after giving up just 10 in the second half of games previously.
Broncos new punter, Mitch Berger, looked very rusty in his first action of the season and almost had two punts blocked, including one that went right through the middle of the out-stretched arms of Ed Reed. It will be interesting to see if any moves are made on special teams again this week after allowing another kick return touchdown and Berger’s struggles.
It was nice to see Peyton Hillis get a few grabs in the game as he has been in the dog-house early on in the season. He is another weapon the Broncos offense could use and it will be interesting to see if he gets more touches moving forward. Also, linebacker/full back Spencer Larsen saw his first special-teams action of the season after a bizarre locker-room injury he sustained in Cincinnati before the first game of the year.
It will be a big week for the Broncos who prepare for their upcoming Monday Night match up with the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The team needs to re-focus and make sure they come out firing on all cylinders next week to prove to the nation that the Broncos won’t fade away this year like they did a season ago. Broncos fans need to rally around the team after their first loss and bring the noise to Invesco to help get this team to 7-1.
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